A NEW DIRECTION WITH SHANE CURRY

from Flatirons Church Impact Report 2023

A NEW PERSPECTIVE WITH JUSTYNE ANDERSON

Shane took a leap of faith two years ago and followed his girlfriend out to Colorado. He applied to a graduate program at CU Boulder and was accepted. A new life began out west as he left his family, friends, and everything he had ever known behind. Once in Colorado, Shane and his girlfriend found Flatirons and started attending. God pushed him out of his comfort zone and he began connecting with other believers. One day, Shane was at the CU gym where he played a pick-up game of basketball with another guy. They had fun and parted ways, and he didn’t think much of it again; just two guys randomly playing basketball one afternoon! It wasn’t until Shane showed up at Flatirons Young Adults Vision Night and saw his friend from the basketball court. From then on they decided to start a small group together.

Everything seemed to be falling into place until Shane and his girlfriend ended their four-year relationship. Shane’s whole world was rocked. Completely shattered, he began to press into his faith and his men’s group. There were many days when he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

When asked about the impact Flatirons has had on Shane he said, “Life-changing would be an understatement. When we gather for our small group, walls come down and we don’t need to pretend. Whether you’re 10, 20, 50, or 80, you need guys in your life who are walking with you going through something similar.”

For many people, developing friendships and community post-college is a nearly impossible task. It’s easy to make friends in school where you see and interact with them daily. Once that part of life ends, the constant opportunity to foster friends is lost. This season of life is not what Shane expected or needed, but finding this community was more than he could have asked for. Not only has Flatirons Young Adults given him deep, faith-filled friendships but he’s also grown in his relationship with God. This journey has shattered his legalistic tendencies and has taught him to trust in God’s plan for him. The trials will only get harder, but His faithfulness has given Shane a renewed sense of peace.

Looking back on the past two years, Shane wouldn’t have thought this is where he would have ended up. God told him to climb a mountain with Him, even though he couldn’t see the top. Shane thought the top of that mountain would be marrying his girlfriend and earning a PhD, but God led him in a sweeter and deeper direction. Shane says,

GOD’S NOT DONE WITH KYLE & KALI FOSTER

The first three years of Kyle and Kali’s marriage have been anything but smooth. One month after they started dating, Kali found out she was pregnant. Shortly after that, Kyle proposed and they signed their marriage license. It didn’t take long for the marriage to become strained. Within a short amount of time, they got married, moved in together, and had their baby boy, Hayden. Health problems, money problems, and life problems came in full force.

Growing up, Kyle didn’t have a positive model of marriage to look up to. He never knew what real love looked like and searched for it anywhere he could. Eventually, this search led to sex and porn addiction. Kyle became absent from Kali and the kids. Infidelity caused the couple to stand in front of a judge ready to sign their divorce papers.

During this time Kyle felt like he hit rock bottom. He found himself praying to God for the first time in a long time. He began going to therapy and the two decided to give their marriage another shot. Kali grew up coming to Flatirons and urged Kyle to attend. Though Kyle avoided going to Flatirons for a long time because he had a thing against big churches, he decided to take a leap of faith and try it out. The first time they attended service together, the message couldn’t have been more relevant to their situation. It was all about how to be a better husband and let God be at the center of marriage. Kyle instantly fell in love with the place.

Shortly after he began attending, Flatirons Men’s Retreat was being held, and Kyle was sponsored to attend. He didn’t know anyone and felt vulnerable until he connected with Matt Judson, the Longmont Campus Kids Ministry Director. They became close and the retreat was unlike anything Kyle had ever experienced.

Things were still rocky between Kali and Kyle. Their decision to have an open marriage ushered in a new era of heartache and distrust. For a second time, they found themselves on the brink of divorce with papers filed. What happened next was truly Kyle’s rock bottom. Overwhelmed with guilt and shame one night, Kyle put his oldest son Atreyu to bed and wrote a note to Kali. He sat at the kitchen table with a loaded handgun. Seconds away from ending his life, Atreyu came down the stairs and asked for something to drink, not knowing that he had just saved his father’s life.

This time around Kyle came to terms with the gravity of his addictions and sought help. Their separation caused them to pursue each other as friends in a way they had never done before. They went back to church and the message couldn’t have been more relevant, again. The entire talk was about sex and porn addiction. “I felt like I was the only person in church that day,” says Kyle.

Kyle reached out to Matt because he knew he couldn’t carry his burden any longer. Matt invited him to be a part of a weekly small group with other men who were also battling sex and porn addiction. Kyle has plans to go to the Rocky Mountain Men’s Summit again this year, as well as an upcoming men’s integrity conference.

This past year, Kyle and Kali were baptized together and everything changed for both of them. Kyle is working on his addictions, Kali is working on her faith, and they’re both working on their marriage. “There are still plenty of bad days, but our struggles don’t end on this side of heaven. What makes a difference is that they have a community in their corner and a God who loves them both unconditionally.” Kyle and Kali are a living testimony of “what God has joined together, let no man separate.”